What do zombies look like

But what do these differences matter? And it turns out, science has even more to say about zombies. In the Brazilian jungle, at a height of just about 10 inches off the ground, carpenter ants can be found with their jaws permanently locked on a leaf, frozen in a never-ending dance as an alien stalk grows through their head. These ants are the victims of ophiocordyceps unilateralis , also known as the zombie ant fungus.

Either way, the ant is compelled to leave its colony and climb up a nearby plant to the precise height above the jungle floor where the humidity and temperature are optimal for the fungus to thrive. The ant is then forced to bite into a leaf to maintain its position, never to move again.

But it does show a so far uniquely known ability to adapt over different climates. As I mentioned, the Brazilian flavor of the fungus directs its host ants to hover around 25 centimeters off the jungle floor by biting onto a leaf.

The whole stalk and spore creation process that spreads the fungus to other ants takes one to two months. However, in cooler climates like Japan and South Carolina, the ants are found instead clinging to twigs in trees several feet off the ground.

In these climates the spreading of spores takes over a year and so the zombified ant must survive a winter season during which a leaf might fall to the ground but a twig will endure. The scientists leading the study , including David Hughes and Raquel Gontijo de Loreto of Penn State, had a lot of help from a citizen scientist , Kim Fleming, who carefully documented the infestation of zombified ants that call her South Carolina property home.

The infection causes the goldenrods to put out leaf-like extensions instead of their usual blooms. Eventually, they only serve the spread of the bacteria. But can humans turn into zombies, too? In the s, Dr. Chavannes Douyon and Prof. Roland Littlewood decided to investigate whether Haitian zombies — reanimated, but mindless humans — were a real possibility. In , the two published a study paper in The Lancet in which they analyzed the cases of three individuals from Haiti whose communities had identified as zombies.

One was a year-old woman who had, allegedly, quickly died after having fallen ill. Douyon and Prof. Instead, medical reasons could explain their zombification. The second person had experienced brain damage, and also had epilepsy , while the third appeared merely to have a learning disability.

This is because they are under the delusion that they are dead or decomposing. It remains unclear just how prevalent this condition is, but research suggests that it is a rare occurrence. Another speaks of a year-old man who had developed a belief that his organs — including his brain — had stopped working, and that even the house in which he lived was slowly but steadily falling apart. At some point, the man attempted to take his own life. Do such cases mean that zombies are real in some way, or, just as our fascination with the figure of the zombie in folklore and popular culture, do they merely reflect our uneasy relationship with death?

We leave it to you to decide. After death, the body enters a long process of decomposition, as its organic elements split into simpler components. What happens, and why learn about…. It is not often that patients who have been declared dead return to life, but it does happen. We explore what is known as the Lazarus phenomenon. Nectome, a start-up company, claim that they could one day preserve the human brain, retrieve memories, and upload them to a computer — but at what….

What are the real zombies? Although A. The mother jewel wasp performs something like brain surgery. Once found, she then injects a zombifying venom. This shows that the wasp can sense the right place to inject its poison. This chemical helps the cockroach stay alert, walk and perform other tasks. When researchers injected a substance similar to octopamine into zombie cockroaches, the insects again began walking. Libersat cautions, however, that this is likely just one piece of the puzzle.

A single fish may have thousands of these worms living on the surface of its brain. The wormier the brain, the more likely the fish is to behave strangely.

An infected fish will still eat normally and stay in a group with its pals. But it also tends to dart toward the surface, twist its body around or rub against rocks.

All of these actions make it easier for birds to see the fish. This parasite can only reproduce inside a bird. Infected fish are 10 to 30 times more likely to get eaten. So far, it seems that zombie fish may be less stressed out than their normal cousins.

Researchers know what chemical changes should happen to a killifish brain when something, such as the sight of a bird on the prowl, stresses it out.

Her group plans to analyze the chemicals in the brains of infected fish, then try to recreate the zombie effect in normal fish. Zombie mind control is a complicated matter. Scientists have found fossil evidence of fungus-controlled ants dating back 48 million years. But scientists are starting to catch up. Figuring out the secrets of zombie mind control in bugs could help neuroscientists understand more about the links between the brain and behavior in people.

Eventually, this work could lead to new medicines or therapies for human brains. By Kathryn Hulick October 27, at am. Underneath that worm-like thing is a spider — now a zombie. That new web will protect the larva as it develops into an adult wasp. Brains, brains! Ant brains! One parasite causes infected rats to become attracted to the smell of cat pee. This helps the parasite because it needs a cat to eat the rat for its life cycle to continue.

South Carolina photographer Kim Fleming discovered affected ants in her backyard. When scientists saw her photos, they realized she had probably discovered a new fungus. If correct, the zombifying species will probably be named after Fleming! Soul-sucking wasps Of all parasites, wasps know some of the creepiest tricks. Story continues after video. In this video, the zombie spider has finished weaving an extra strong web for the wasp larva. Keizo Takasuka The jewel wasp puts an insect on the menu it serves up to its young: cockroach.